31. The Short-Form Scripted Serial Drama: The Novice Showrunner’s New Opportunity

The short-form web series is a recent mutation in the evolution of narrative serialized television shows. Despite the failure of the short-form platform Quibi, its premium content and the fact that leading streamers are now hosting and producing short-form series signal that the short-form series has a future. Furthermore, the short-form offers novice showrunners new methods for breaking into the industry. These series, however, require a set of poetics different from those of long-form serialized television shows. This chapter reviews the poetics of long-form serialized television dramas (structure/act breaks, cliffhangers, character arcs, A/B/C stories, closed/open-ended) by analyzing Breaking Bad (2008–2013), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–), and The Chi (2018–); and then examines short-form shows—namely Special (2019–2021), The Stranger (2020). Created by Veena Sud. US: Touchstone Television, Quibi), and The Other F-Word (2016)—to determine which of the long-form conventions inform the development of the short-form series and how strategies must differ.